Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

World War Two ended in Europe on the 7th of May 1945 when the German High Command authorised the signing of an unconditional surrender on all fronts. The surrender was to take effect at midnight the following day.

In London, over 1 million people packed the streets as King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, and PM Winston Churchill greeted the cheering crowd. New York's Times Square was equally bustling, with President Harry Truman dedicating the victory to the late Franklin D Roosevelt. Paris partied all night, and fireworks lit up Moscow's Kremlin. Today, 19 countries mark Victory in Europe with a public holiday.

Back home in Australia, the victory was met with far less enthusiasm. ‘Since when has it been customary to celebrate victory halfway through the contest’ read the headline of the Sydney Morning Herald. The unfortunate reality was that the war was not over for the Australian troops who were still fighting the Japanese in the Pacific. While over 13,000 Allied prisoners of war were released by Germany that day, thousands more Australians remained incarcerated by the Japanese in camps across the Pacific and in Japan.[1]

Still, the day was celebrated by Australian servicemen overseas and by the public across Australia. 100,000 people attended the service at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne.

Australians who participated in the European theatre of World War Two had fought against the Germans and Italians in a number of areas, including North Africa, Greece, and Crete. There were also approximately 13,000 Australian airmen who participated in the bombing raids of Western Europe throughout the war,[2] and about 500 members of the Royal Australian Navy also participated in various operations in the European theatre.[3]

An example of an Australian member of the Airforce was Flying Officer Bruce William BRITTAIN, who trained with the Empire Air Training Scheme in Canada before transferring to the United Kingdom and beginning bombing operations in 1944. After being shot down over France, Bruce had quite an adventure, spending 6 weeks with the French Resistance before linking up with advancing American forces. After the war he returned home.

Navy personnel who participated in the European Theatre of War included Leon Verdi GOLDSWORTHY GC, DSC,GM, MID, who joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1941 before becoming a member of the Admiralty Mine Disposal Section in London. During his time there he rendered safe 19 mines. Goldsworthy was involved in the selection and training of men for port clearance prior to the Normandy (D–Day) invasion in June 1944. He rendered safe the first type K mine in Cherbourg Harbour in 15m of water while under enemy shell-fire, and three ground mines on the British assault area beaches. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for ‘for gallantry and distinguished services in the work of mine-clearance in the face of the enemy’. After the war Goldsworthy returned to Perth.

The prisoners of war released by the Germans at the end of the war included 7,115 Australian soldiers captured in North Africa or Greece; 1,476 airmen, mostly bomber aircrew shot down over Germany in 1943–45; and a few sailors.[4]

Though Germany generally observed the Geneva Convention governing the treatment of prisoners of war from western countries, in the often severe climate prisoners lived in increasingly harsh conditions. In 1945 many undernourished prisoners were forced to march in winter to evade liberation by Soviet forces.

Prisoners were held in over 40 major camps all over Germany, from Lithuania to the Rhine. Officers and men were held in separate camps – Oflags and Stalags. Prisoners were expected to maintain military discipline.

One such Australian who suffered in German prison camps was Arthur Leslie LEGGETT OAM, who was made to work 12-hour days in coal mines in Poland and endured a forced march across the Czech Alps while starving in the midst of the European winter.

An example of the sad consequences of these circumstances was the death of Lance Sergeant Maxwell Pascoe-Pearce, who died of illness, with malnutrition contributing, on the 15th of March 1945.

Others had made attempts to escape and reach a neutral country, but those who failed or were subsequently recaptured often faced harsh treatment.

Of those Australians taken prisoner by the Italians and Germans, 265 died in captivity. Of the remainder, 1329 were returned in prisoner exchanges during hostilities, and the rest were evacuated to England soon after liberation, many facing a long and painful reintegration into postwar life.[5]

These are just a small sample of the vast and varied experience that Australians had in the European Theatre. Once Victory in Europe had been declared, many of these men and women returned to civilian life, having lived through unimaginable experiences.

The expected plan had been for at least some of the Australian forces in Europe to be transferred to the Pacific theatre, but in the event, these forces were largely not needed, as Japan surrendered in August after the nuclear bombings. By October full demobilisation had begun and was completed by February 1947. Those who remained in the forces were reassigned to the occupation of Japan.

Of the one million Australians who served overseas in WW2, approximately just under half of them fought in Europe over the course of the war. It is estimated that 10,000 of these Australians lost their lives.[5] We should always remember the service and sacrifice of these men and women.

Stalag 383: The burial of Lance Sergeant Maxwell Pascoe-Pearce, 2/1st Field Ambulance, in March 1945.

References

[1] Imperial War Museums. (n.d.). Beyond VE Day: The Events of Summer 1945. [online] Available at: https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/beyond-ve-day-the-events-of-summer-1945.

[2] Stephens, Alan (2006) [2001]. The Royal Australian Air Force: A History. London: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-555541-4.

[3] Department of Veterans’ Affairs. (2024). Recognising Australia’s involvement in D-Day. [online] Available at: https://www.dva.gov.au/news/latest-stories/recognising-australias-involvement-d-day.

[4] Awm.gov.au. (2016). Stolen Years: Australian prisoners of war | The Australian War Memorial. [online] Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/visit/exhibitions/stolenyears/ww2/germany.

[5] Department of Veterans’ Affairs (2020). Australian Prisoners of War 1940-1945 | Anzac Portal. [online] anzacportal.dva.gov.au. Available at: https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/world-war-ii-1939-1945/resources/australian-prisoners-war-1940-1945.